Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2007-08: Cody Sol made his OHL debut with the Saginaw Spirit – appearing in 12 regular season games and one playoff match.

2008-09: Sol's second season with the Spirit. He showed he was capable of dropping the gloves and playing physical hockey though his lack of mobility was times an issue. Played a combined 74 games including playoffs, with 1 goal and 8 assists and 142 PIM and a plus/minus of +2.

2009-10: Attended camp with the Thrashers before being returned to Saginaw. Continued to play a physical, defense first game with the Spirit but also chipped in offensively, though that is by no means his calling card. In 66 regular season games for Saginaw, he scored 7 goals with 8 assists was +20 and accumulated 151 PIM. In eight playoff games, he had a pair of assists with 14 PIM and was -2. Appeared in one game with the Thrashers' AHL affiliate Chicago following the OHL playoffs and was -3.

2010-11: Traded to the Kitchener Rangers, Cody Sol played well within his limitations and was an important part of the Rangers defense corps. Recording 4 goals and 17 points in 60 games represents a statistical high for the big hitting shutdown type, but the more telling stat came in the form of greatly reduced penalty minutes. While he has proven fighting ability, Sol must remain able to be effective in a defensive role. Although he can be expected to receive an invitation to drop em more regularly at the next level, his avoidance of costly minor penalties is an important development.

2011-12: Sol attended Jets training camp before returning to Kitchener for an overage season in the OHL. He provided both toughness and offense from the Rangers' blue line – leading the team in penalty minutes (180) and scoring 15 goals with 23 assists. Sol was plus-35 in 62 games. Kitchener finished second in the Midwest Division and lost to eventual OHL champion London in the Western Conference finals. Sol scored 4 goals with 8 assists and was minus-three with 29 penalty minutes in 16 playoff games.

2012-13: Sol made his AHL debut with Winnipeg affiliate St. John's in December and also skated for the ECHL's Colorado Eagles in his first pro season. Forced to begin the year with the Eagles due in part to the NHL lockout, he played 26 games with St. John's and scored 1 goal with 3 assists; finishing with an even plus/minus and 63 penalty minutes. The IceCaps missed the playoffs after finishing last in the Atlantic Division. Sol played 25 ECHL games for Colorado. He scored 5 goals with 3 assists and was +1 with 109 penalty minutes. The Eagles made the playoffs after finishing third in the Mountain Division but Sol was with Saint John's and did not play in the series with Idaho.

Talent Analysis

Sol is big, but lacks mobililty. Best used as an enforcer. He showed some offensive flashes in his third year in the OHL but the core of his game is defense and intimidation. While size-wise he fits the mold of bigger players that the Thrashers have begun to accumulate, he must constantly avoid putting himself in spots where his lack of foot speed is exposed.

Future

Projected as an enforcer, Sol needs to work on his skating to stick at the pro level as a defender.

Photo: Winnipeg 2013 pick Brenden Kichton ranks third in the AHL in scoring amongst defensemen with 28 points through 36 games for the Jets affiliate in St. John’s (courtesy of Terrence Lee/Icon SMI)

With several scattered injuries at the NHL level, including blue chip defenseman Jacob Trouba at one point, no less than seven AHL regulars have seen spot duty with the Winnipeg Jets this season. When not plugging holes at the NHL level, the St. John's IceCaps have provided stingy opposition to the rest of the AHL this season.

Photo: Forward Jason Gregoire is one of several Winnipeg natives the Jets have in their prospect pool. Gregoire joined the organization as a free agent in 2011. (Terry Lee/Icon SMI)

The Winnipeg Jets continue to rebuild their prospect pool, led by Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba. In the past two entry drafts, Jets' General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has started to realize a vision of a bigger, tougher, and grittier team. While the rebuild started with the 2011 Draft, solid progress is already being made. Below is a breakdown of all current prospects of the Winnipeg Jets.